3 Things You Should Know about Uluru's Aboriginal Name Uluru-Ayers Rock: What’s in a Name? Many people ask us what is the Aboriginal name for Ayers Rock means. So we’ve written this page to not only help you to learn what the original name for Ayers Rock is, but also to dispel some of the myths about Ayers Rock’s original name. We often see information written on the internet about Ayers Rock that simply isn’t true. For example, I’ve seen websites stating that Ayers Rock is the heart chakra of the world! Until recently, Wikipedia’s entry claiming that Uluru means ‘island mountain’. I’ve even heard one ignorant tour guide at Uluru’s base spreading this ‘island mountain’ meaning to tourists. Not only is this untrue, it’s also offensive to Aboriginal people who have their own spiritual traditions associated with the Rock. So we want to make sure that you have the real facts about Uluru – and especially about the Aboriginal name for Ayers Rock. On this page, I (Amanda) will share my knowledge as an anthropologist and tell you the real story behind Ayers Rock’s original name. 1.

Uluru: The Original Name The Aboriginal name for Ayers Rock is Uluru. Uluru is a Yankunytjatjara word. Yankunytjatjara is the name of the Aboriginal people whose land Ayers Rock is located on. Uluru is not just the name of Ayers Rock itself, but also of the country around Ayers Rock. Uluru is in fact the name of a large tract of land where a particular sub-group of Yankunytjatjara people (anthropologists call this an ‘estate group’) live. 2. What Does Uluru Mean? Uluru is first and foremost a place name. It does not have any specific meaning, although it may have some connection to the Yankunytjatjara words for ‘crying’ and ‘shadows’. As I really wanted to know what the word meant, I asked Senior Traditional owners, Reggie and Cassidy Uluru and well known Alice Springs historian, Richard (Dick) Kimber, about the meaning of Uluru. After a few ignorant comments on this post, I then asked several Yankunytjatjara people who are highly skilled language interpreters about the meaning as well.

They all told me that Uluru was the name of the place, and that it had no specific meaning. I also read through the writings of Charles Mountford, one of the first anthropologists to live and work with Yankunytjatjara and Luritja people, and the books of Bill Harney (the first ranger at Ayers Rock). I consulted the anthropological work of Robert Lawton, who worked on land claims in the area during the 1970s. Mountford worked with Aboriginal people at Ayers Rock in the 1930s and 1940s. He records that Uluru is both the name of a Dreaming ancestor, a snake, AND the name of a rockhole that is a Men’s Sacred site located on top of the Rock. Traditionally, only initiated senior men could climb the Rock and visit this special site (this fact is often hidden from public knowledge, but is there in historical and anthropological records for anyone to discover.) Bill Harney arrived at Uluru in the late 1950s. He was told by the Aboriginal custodians of Uluru that it was a place name.

Robert Lawton was the anthropologist who interviewed all of the old people for the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Land Claim. He also established that Uluru was a place name. After doing this research and asking expert people, the evidence suggested that the Aboriginal name for Ayers Rock, Uluru, is indeed a place name with no specific meaning. Aboriginal people felt that the connection to ‘crying’ or ‘wailing’ was actually associated with ‘Yulara’, which is the name of the township where Ayers Rock Resort is located. There are several named places on the south western side of the Rock (near the Park HQ) which refer to shade or shadows. (The ‘ul-‘ sound refers to shade or shadow in several Central Australian Aboriginal languages ). There may be some connection of the word ‘Uluru’ to shadows or shade, however, the Aboriginal men I spoke with did not suggest this. So we can conclude that just as Niagara Falls is the name of a place, or London or the Amazon River, so too is Uluru. It does not mean ‘Earth Mother’. It does not mean ‘big rock’. It does not mean ‘island mountain’.

(This is an error lifted from a description on a topographical map!) It does not mean ‘Rainbow Dreaming’ or ‘Heart Chakra Dreaming’ or any other New Age nonsense. If you are using my page as a source for your own webpages, please make sure that you don’t promote any of the myths about Uluru’s name. Feel free to use this information, knowing that it is the real truth. 3. One Rock, but Many Names and Places Another thing that’s useful to know is that there not just one Aboriginal name for Ayers Rock, but that Aboriginal people have named many of the individual features of Uluru, such as caves and waterholes, as well. For example, all of the caves, valleys, waterholes and even a particular place right on the top of Ayers Rock have specific names. Many of these named places on Uluru are sacred sites. Although Yankunytjatjara and Pitjantjatjara people consider all of Ayers Rock to be spiritually significant, they strongly distinguish between sacred sites and the rest of the Rock. The photo below is a satellite photo, and I’ve labelled all of the places names and sacred sites around the Rock.

It’s important for visitors to understand the distinction between a place name and a sacred site. All Aboriginal people in Central Australia have a word in their languages that means ‘sacred site’. To an Aboriginal person, when a place is deemed as a sacred site, there are often restrictions on who can visit, when they may visit and the rituals and songs they need to know to visit such places. This means that some places on Ayers Rock may only be seen by initiated men, or by Aboriginal women. Places become sacred sites because Dreamtime beings travelled through, or performed some action, at that particular place and are still considered to be there, performing that action. Although Aboriginal people acknowledge that non-Aboriginal people want to visit their sacred places (and in Central Australia, most of the ‘top’ destinations are sacred sites), there are some places which they request that people stay away from. This is why that Aboriginal people at Ayers Rock request that visitors don’t climb the Rock, and in some places, request that photographs aren’t taken. So you can see that the Aboriginal name for Ayers Rock is at first glance, just a place name.

However, Uluru has not just one named place, but many and these are often of great spiritual importance to Aboriginal people. Please Read This: Even after furnishing all of this evidence, we still receive comments and emails from people who do not accept that Uluru has no special meaning. We have recently had someone insist that an unnamed ‘elder’ at Uluru told her that the name meant ‘island mountain’. This person refused to believe not only the anthropological and historical evidence, but the evidence given by Aboriginal Elders with whom we have worked over a long period of time. This is deeply insulting, ignorant and ethnocentric. So, all we ask is that if you do not believe what is written here, that you seek out the original sources mentioned above. If you are very lucky, you may be able to speak with some of the true Elders at Uluru (they will NOT be tour guides or rangers – they are now all very old people in their late 70s and 80s). Lastly, if you’ve found this page interesting and useful, please share it via Twitter, Facebook or Google+.

Uluru and Aboriginal Culture - Uluru (Ayers Rock) Australia Uluru and Aboriginal Culture - Uluru (Ayers Rock) Australia Longitude 131 Uluru and Aboriginal Culture The area around Uluru was settled thousands of years ago, and although it was ‘discovered’ by the white man in the 1800s, Uluru and Aboriginal culture are very much entwined today. In fact, Uluru (Ayers Rock) is sacred to the local Pitjantjatjara tribe that live here. It was said to have come about during the much fabled Dreamtime. Although people have been visiting and climbing Uluru for years, the Aborigines would prefer they didn’t. Aboriginal ancestors walked the path that tourists do today, and many of the caves around the rock hold deep meanings for them and contain ancient rock paintings. Uluru is a World Heritage site, and although part of a protected national park, there may come a time when it could be off-limits to climbers. Why is Uluru sacred? Aboriginal culture dictates that Uluru was formed by ancestral beings during Dreamtime.

The rock’s many caves and fissures are thought to be evidence of this, and some of the forms around Uluru are said to represent ancestral spirits. Rituals are still often held today in the caves around the base where ‘No Photography’ signs are posted out of respect. To learn more about Uluru and Aboriginal culture onsite, the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Aboriginal Cultural Centre is the place to visit. It lies just south of Uluru in an intriguing building. The Anangu people here tell visitors stories about their ancestors and the rock in general. There are also arts and crafts available for purchase in the souvenir shop. Visitors can also do Anangu Tours with Aboriginal guides in order to gain more insight into Aboriginal culture and Uluru. These encompass the Liru Walk, and tourists get to learn about the Blue Tongue Lizard Man while learning traditional bush skills. Map of Australia's Red Centre Uluru / Ayers Rock Ayers Rock Facts Ayers Rock Facts - Weather and Climate Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park has a desert climate. The area receives a surprising amount of rainfall for a desert (like most Australian deserts do), about 200 - 250 mm a year.

Like all deserts the area experiences extremes in temperature. Winter nights can be as cold as -8°C, and summer days as hot as 48°C. During the middle of summer (December to March) the daily maximum averages 38°C. Return to top Ayers Rock Facts - Geology Both Uluru and Kata Tjuta are left overs of a huge sediment that has formed hundreds of millions of years ago: Sand was laid down in a basin which formed about 900 million years ago. Material continued to collect at the bottom of this ancient sea bed until about 300 million years ago. 550 million years ago the area was lifted and folded and mountain ranges formed. These ranges eroded in the following millions of years, leaving huge sediments at the bottom. About 300 million years ago the seas disappeared. The remaining sediment folded and fractured again. In this major process the sediment layers that now form Uluru were tilted, so that today they are at a 85° angle. Kata Tjuta was tilted some 20°. The whole region was lifted up above sea level in the process.

This means Uluru and Kata Tjuta are the only visible tips of a massive underground rock slab. You could even argue that the description of Uluru as a monolith is inaccurate, as it is actually part of this huge underground rock formation that also includes Kata Tjuta. The intriguing sculpted shapes, valleys and ridges, caves, potholes and plunge pools are the result of the last few hundreds of millions of years of erosion. The flaky surface is due to chemical decomposition. Uluru is made of arkose sandstone (a sandstone rich in feldspar), whereas Kata Tjuta is a conglomerate of gravel and boulders, cemented together by mud and sand. Uluru is naturally grey, but the iron content of the rock is "rusting" at the surface, resulting in the distinctive red iron oxide coating. Return to top Ayers Rock Facts - History This section covers the history from the European point of view. (The Aboriginal history of Ayers Rock deserves its own page.) Research suggests that Aborigines have lived in the area for at least 10,000 years.

The first white person to see Ayers Rock, at least from a distance, was the explorer Ernest Giles in October 1872. The first European to actually visit the rock was surveyor William Gosse on the 19th of July, 1873. He named it Ayers Rock after Sir Henry Ayers, the Chief Secretary of South Australia at the time. (Back then the area was part of South Australia.) William Gosse was also the first European to climb Ayers Rock. In 1950 Ayers Rock was made a national park. According to some sources in 1983 Bob Hawke, then Prime Minister of Australia, promised that climbing Uluru would be prohibited. He broke his promise in 1985. Title to the lands was handed back to the traditional owners, the Anangu, on the 26th of October, with the condition that they lease the park back to the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service for 99 years, that it would be jointly managed, and with the condition that Uluru remains open to climbers. Other sources give the impression that the Anangu could and one day may close the climb.

So far I haven't been able to definitely verify either claim. In 1995 the park name was changed from "Ayers Rock - Mount Olga National Park" to "Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park", reflecting the traditional ownership and the Anangu's close relationship with their land. Today the parks Board of Management consists mainly of traditional owners, and many local Aborigines work in the park. The Anangu ask visitors to respect their culture and law and to not climb the rock. Ayers Rock Facts - Kata Tjuta/The Olgas Kata Tjuta is located north west of Uluru and is made up of 36 smaller monoliths. The highest monolith, Mount Olga, stands 546 metres tall. The Olgas cover about 35 km2 (13.5 miles2), and the circumference is about 22 km or 13.7 miles. The distance to Uluru is about 30 km (20 miles) as the crow flies, and it is a 50 km (30 miles) drive.

Ayers Rock Facts - Tourism Aborigine outrage over Ayers Rock stripper - Telegraph Australia Aborigine outrage over Ayers Rock stripper Aborigine leaders have called for a French dancer to be deported from Australia after she was filmed stripping on Ayers Rock. Experience the ever-changing colours of Uluru (Ayers Rock) and learn about Australia's fascinating Aboriginal culture. 2:45PM BST 27 Jun 2010 Alizee Sery, 25, climbed the red sandstone monolith in conventional dress but then stripped at the top to a white bikini, white high-heeled boots and a bushman's hat. The images outraged local Aborigines, who regard it as a sacred site and object to tourists climbing it. Aborigines also object to photos being taken of the areas of the rock, which they call Uluru. Sery said she had not intended to offend Aboriginal culture with her "strip show". "What we need to remember is that traditionally, the Aboriginal people were living naked, so stripping down was a return to what it was like," she said.

"I do not mean in any way for this to offend the Aboriginal culture." Related Articles Aboriginal Cultural Experiences | Indigenous Culture | Uluru Resort Ayers Rock View Tour Bush Yarn Welcome to the Circle of Sand, the Indigenous heart of Ayers Rock Resort. You will quickly become captivated by the yarns told by an Indigenous storyteller about Aboriginal history, culture and traditional techniques used on the land. Dependant on the season, learn about traditional bushtucker or an Indigenous man&rsquo;s &ldquo;survival kit&rdquo; including weapons such as katjii (hunting spears), tjutinpa (clubs), kali (boomerangs) and miru (spear thrower). Tour duration approx 30 minutes. View Tour Garden Walk - Desert Gardens Hotel Desert Gardens Hotel is famous for it's magnificent gardens full of local flora, this is an opportunity to learn about the intricacies of an outback garden with an Indigenous guide. Learn how Indigenous people traditionally lived by using the bush for food and medicinal purposes. Alternatively, collect a free Garden Walk Pocket Guide from your hotel reception for a self-guided tour. Tour duration approx. 1 hour.

View Item 3 Day A-Reserve Package This 3 day/2 night ACO Uluru Festival itinerary includes A Reserve seating plus a number of tours and dining experiences to make the most of your weekend. This itinerary includes: A Reserve seating in all 3 concerts Refreshment before each concert Poolside Welcome Dinner Uluru Cultural Tour Gala Dinner Uluru in View Sunrise and Field of Light RECOMMENDED HOTEL FOR THis ITINERARY: 5* SAILS IN THE DESERT or 4.5* DESERT GARDENS HOTEL View Item 3 Day Best of Uluru Itinerary Experience everything Uluru and the surrounds has to offer with the top once-in-a-lifetime tours and activities on this 2 night Best of Uluru stay including: Sounds of Silence dinner under the stars Desert Awakenings sunrise tour Kata Tjuta Sunset Various guest activities Unique Facts about Oceania: Ayers Rock usa | world | animals | vocabulary | health | science | math | history Ayers Rock Uluru (also Ayers Rock or The Rock) is a large rock formation in central Australia, in the Northern Territory. It is located in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, 400 km southwest of Alice Springs.

It is the second largest monolith in the world (after Mount Augustus, also in Australia), more than 318 metres (986 ft) high and 8 km (5 mi) around. It also extends 2.5 km (1.5 miles) into the ground. It was described by explorer Ernest Giles in 1872 as "the remarkable pebble". Uluru at dusk Uluru is notable for appearing to change colour as the different light strikes it at different times of the day and year, with sunset a particularly remarkable sight. The rock is made of sandstone infused with minerals like feldspar (Arkosic sandstone) that reflect the red light of sunrise and sunset, making it appear to glow. The rock gets its rust color from oxidation. Uluru is sacred to the Aborigines and has many varied springs, waterholes, rock caves and ancient paintings. Ayers Rock was the name given to it by European settlers, after the Premier of South Australia Henry Ayers.

Uluru is the name in a local Aboriginal language (Arrente), and since the 1980s has been the officially preferred name, although many people, especially non-Australians, still call it Ayers Rock. Uluru, this time purple in the afternoon The Aboriginal community of Mutitjulu (pop. approx. 150) is near the western end of Uluru. From Uluru it is about 21 km to the tourist town of Yulara (pop. 3,000), which is situated just outside of the National Park. Kata Tjuta, which literally means 'Many Heads' owing to its peculiar formation, is another rock formation about 25 km from Uluru. They are called the Olgas by many Australians. Special viewing areas with road access and ample parking have been constructed in order to give tourists the best views of both sites at dawn and dusk.In 1980, baby Azaria Chamberlain disappeared while she and her parents were camping near Uluru. Her mother Lindy Chamberlain reported that Azaria had been taken by a dingo, sparking the most publicised trial in Australian history.

On 26 October 1985, the Australian Government returned ownership of Uluru to the local Aboriginal people, the Anangu (or 'people'), of the Pitjantjatjara tribe, who then leased it back to the Government for 99 years as a National Park, even though the government broke two of the promises they had made to them earlier. The local indigenous community request that visitors respect the sacred status of Uluru by not climbing the rock, with signs posted to this effect. Uluru, appearing yellow at midday In 1983 the former Prime Minister of Australia, Bob Hawke, promised to respect the request from the community that climbing Uluru be prohibited, but broke his promise when title was handed to the Traditional Owners in 1985 because access for tourists to climb Uluru was made a necessary condition before they could receive the title. The climb crosses an important dreaming track, which has been a cause of sadness and distress among Traditional Owners. Neverthless, they are unable, due to prohibit climbing, and climbing Uluru is a popular attraction for a large fraction of the many tourists who visit it each year.

A rope handhold makes the climb easier, but it is still quite a long and steep climb and many intended climbers give up partway. There are several deaths a year as a direct result of climbing the rock, mainly from heart failure. Ayers Rock, Uluru - Crystalinks Ayers Rock Ayers Rock is also known by its Aboriginal name 'Uluru'. It is a sacred part of Aboriginal creation mythology, or dreamtime - reality being a dream. Uluru is considered one of the great wonders of the world and one of Australia's most recognizable natural icons. Uluru is a large magnetic mound large not unlike Silbury Hill in England. It is located on a major planetary grid point much like the Great Pyramid in Egypt. Ayers Rock is a large sandstone rock formation in central Australia, in the Northern Territory. It is located in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, 350 km southwest of Alice Springs at 25 degrees 20' 41" S 131 degrees 01' 57" E.

It is the second-largest monolith in the world (after Mount Augustus, also in Australia), more than 318 m (986 ft) high and 8 km (5 miles) around. It also extends 2.5 km (1.5 miles) into the ground. It was described by explorer Ernest Giles in 1872 as "the remarkable pebble".' Uluru is an inselberg, literally "island mountain", an isolated remnant left after the slow erosion of an original mountain range. Uluru is also often referred to as a monolith, although this is a somewhat ambiguous term because of its multiple meanings, and thus a word generally avoided by geologists. The remarkable feature of Uluru is its homogeneity and lack of jointing and parting at bedding surfaces, leading to the lack of development of scree slopes and soil. These characteristics led to its survival, while the surrounding rocks were eroded. For the purpose of mapping and describing the geological history of the area, geologists refer to the rock strata making up Uluru as the Mutitjulu Arkose, and it is one of many sedimentary formations filling the Amadeus Basin.

Close Up Rain Age and Origin The Mutitjulu Arkose is believed to be of about the same age as the conglomerate at Kata Tjuta, and to have a similar origin despite the rock type being different, but it is younger than the rocks exposed to the east at Mount Conner, and unrelated to them. The strata at Uluru are nearly vertical, dipping to the south west at 85 degrees, and have an exposed thickness of at least 2,400 m (7,900 ft). The strata dip below the surrounding plain and no doubt extend well beyond Uluru in the subsurface, but the extent is not known. The rock was originally sand, deposited as part of an extensive alluvial fan that extended out from the ancestors of the Musgrave, Mann and Petermann Ranges to the south and west, but separate from a nearby fan that deposited the sand, pebbles and cobbles that now make up Kata Tjuta. The similar mineral composition of the Mutitjulu Arkose and the granite ranges to the south is now explained. The ancestors of the ranges to the south were once much larger than the eroded remnants we see today.

They were thrust up during a mountain building episode referred to as the Petermann Orogeny that took place in late Neoproterozoic to early Cambrian times (550-530 Ma), and thus the Mutitjulu Arkose is believed to have been deposited at about the same time. The arkose sandstone which makes up the formation is composed of grains that show little sorting based on grain size, exhibit very little rounding and the feldspars in the rock are relatively fresh in appearance. This lack of sorting and grain rounding is typical of arkosic sandstones and is indicative of relatively rapid erosion from the granites of the growing mountains to the south. The layers of sand were nearly horizontal when deposited, but were later tilted to their near vertical position during a later episode of mountain building, possibly the Alice Springs Orogeny of Palaeozoic age (400-300 Ma). Despite current estimates of the age of the geological formations that comprise Uluru, however, the arkose sandstone which makes up the formation is composed of grains that are many different sizes and are jagged, and the feldspars in the rock are fresh and shiny.

Flood geologists argue that this indicates a comparatively fast deposit, on the order of only a few years or less. They state that if the arkose grains had been transported more slowly they would be more rounded and evenly sorted, and the feldspars would have turned to clay in the intervening years. History Archaeological findings to the east and west indicate that humans settled in the area more than 10,000 years ago. Europeans arrived in the Australian Western Desert in the 1870s. Uluru and Kata Tjuta were first mapped by Europeans in 1872 during the expeditionary period made possible by the construction of the Australian Overland Telegraph Line. In separate expeditions, Ernest Giles and William Gosse were the first European explorers to this area. While exploring the area in 1872, Giles sighted Kata Tjuta from a location near Kings Canyon and called it Mount Olga, while the following year Gosse observed Uluru and named it Ayers Rock. Further explorations followed with the aim of establishing the possibilities of the area for pastoralism.

In the late 1800s, pastoralists attempted to establish themselves in areas adjoining the South western/Petermann Reserve and interaction between Anangu and white people became more frequent and more violent. Due to the effects of grazing and drought, bush food stores became depleted. Competition for these resources created conflict between the two groups, resulting in more frequent police patrols. Later, during the depression in the 1930s, Anangu became involved in dingo scalping with 'doggers' who introduced Anangu to European foods and ways. Between 1918 and 1921, large adjoining areas of South Australia, Western Australia and Northern Territory were declared as Aboriginal reserves, sanctuaries for nomadic people who had virtually no contact with European settlers. In 1920, part of Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park was declared an Aboriginal Reserve (commonly known as the South-Western or Petermann Reserve) by the Australian government under the Aboriginals Ordinance. The first tourists arrived in the Uluru area in 1936. Beginning in the 1940s, permanent European settlement of the area for reasons of the Aboriginal welfare policy and to help promote tourism of Uluru.

This increased tourism prompted the formation of the first vehicular tracks in 1948 and tour bus services began early in the following decade. In 1958, the area that would become the Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park was excised from the Petermann Reserve; it was placed under the management of the Northern Territory Reserves Board and named the Ayers Rock - Mount Olga National Park. The first ranger was Bill Harney, a well-recognised central Australian figure. By 1959, the first motel leases had been granted and Eddie Connellan had constructed an airstrip close to the northern side of Uluru. On 26 October 1985, the Australian government returned ownership of Uluru to the local Pitjantjatjara Aborigines, with one of the conditions being that the Anangu would lease it back to the National Parks and Wildlife agency for 99 years and that it would be jointly managed. The Aboriginal community of Mutitjulu, population of approximately 300, is located near the western end of Uluru.

From Uluru it is 17 km (11 mi) by road to the tourist town of Yulara, population 3,000, which is situated just outside of the national park. Kata Tjuta National Park is owned and run by the local Aboriginals. The Australian government handed ownership of the land back to the Aboriginals some years ago. Uluru has many caves, some decorated with rock art depicting Dreamtime myths dating back thousands of years. The Caves The caves in Uluru can be both engaging and enlightening. To truly experience the power of Ayers Rock, your journey should be more than a few hours. Take your time to absorb the history of the springs, caves, and ancient paintings throughout the formation and don't worry about running your business . The first Aboriginal settlers arrived there more than 10,000 years ago and created a historical journey that would be difficult to transverse overnight so the recommendation for any tourists traveling to the formation has always been to allow more time to absorb the area without being distracted. Mount Urulu Turned Violet Uluru went from red to violet on June 1, 2004, waterfalls on the rocks causing the color change.

Ayers Rock was named for the Premier of South Australia, Sir Henry Ayers. It extends down over 3 and a half miles beneath the surface. Approximately 500 million years ago it was part of the ocean floor at the center of Australia. Some report that there is a light source emanating at various times of the year. Most likely this can be explained scientifically. The Aborigines believe that there it is hollow below ground, and that there is an energy source that they call 'Tjukurpa' the dream time. The term Tjukurpa is also used to refer to the record of all activities of a particular ancestral being from the very beginning of his or her travels to their end. Anangu know that the area around Ayers Rock (Mount Uluru) is inhabited by dozens of ancestral 'beings' whose activities are recorded at many other sites. At each site, the events that took place can be recounted, whether those events were of significance or whether the ancestral being just rested at a certain place before going on.

Usually, there is a physical feature of some form at each ancestral site which represents both the activities of the ancestral being at the time of its formation and the living presence of Tjukurpa within that physical feature today. For the Australian Aboriginal people, that physical feature, whatever its form or appearance, animate or inanimate, is the Tjukurpa. It may be a rock, a sand hill, a grove of trees, a cave. For all of these, the creative essence remains forever within the physical form or appearance. Around Mount Uluru there are many examples of ancestral sites. The Anangu explanations of these sites and of the formation of Mount Uluru itself derive from the Tjukurpa. Most of these explanations are in the realm of secret information and are not disclosed to Piranypa, the non-Aborigines. 'The Dreaming' is not a creation myth, per se, but a myth of formation. The world existed, but was featureless. Giant semi-human beings, resembling plants or animals, rose up from the plains where they had been slumbering for countless ages. These ancient heroes roamed the land aimlessly.

As they wandered around, they carried out the tasks that the present Aborigines do today including camping, making fires, digging for water, fighting each other, and performing ceremonies. When the heroes became tired of doing these things, Dreamtime came to an end. Wherever the creators had been active, some form of natural feature now marks the place. The creators made everything with which the aborigines are in daily contact and from which they gain their living. The heroes also established laws that govern all aspects, both secular and sacred, of the tribes. Dreamtime was in the past, but it is the Aborigines present religion and culture. The saying, 'As it was done in the Dreamtime, so it must be done today,' dominates all aspects of aboriginal behavior. Because of their beliefs in 'the dreaming,' ceremonies and rituals are held, stories are told, pictures are drawn, and daily life is defined. In order to understand the religion of the Aborigines, one must have a basic understanding of the organization of the tribes. All men and women belong to small groups, called clans. Each clan posses a distinct body of spiritual properties, or sacred sites.

A clan may have several sacred sites that they claim, and the area surrounded by the connection of these sites forms the clan's estate. Clans are linked by common religious traditions, intermarriage, shared dialects, and overlapping foraging rights. Stone monument made by the heroic ancestors Clans people of the crow believe they are descended from the Dreamtime's crow spirit who became a man. Each clan has a totem. 'Totemism is a view of nature and life, of the universe and man, which colors and influences the Aborigines' social groupings and mythologies, inspires their rituals and links them to the past. It unites them with nature's activities and species in a bond of mutual life-giving, and imparts confidence amidst the vicissitudes of life'. The totem provides a tangible expression of a man's relationship to his deities. Everything in the Aboriginal world contains an essence or spirit that had its beginnings in the Dreamtime. Each person descended from one of these spirits and possessed some of its life force. The spirit it descended from is the person's totem. Images of totems make-up a large part of Aboriginal art.

They were painted on cave walls, which we title rock art, drawn on the interiors of their huts, drawn on their bodies, and carved in wood. Totemic spirits are celebrated in ceremonies and rituals, and played a prominent part in Aboriginal myth. Myths, Legends and Aboriginal Traditions According to the Anangu traditional landowners of Uluru: "The world was once a featureless place. None of the places we know existed until creator beings, in the forms of people, plants and animals, traveled widely across the land. Then, in a process of creation and destruction, they formed the landscape as we know it today. Anangu land is still inhabited by the spirits of dozens of these ancestral creator beings which are referred to as Tjukuritja or Waparitja." There are a number of unauthenticated accounts of the Aboriginal ancestral stories for the origins of Uluru and its many cracks and fissures. One such account, taken from Robert Layton's (1989) ULURU: An Aboriginal history of Ayers Rock, reads as follows: "Uluru (Ayers Rock) was built up during the creation period by two boys who played in the mud after rain.

When they had finished their game they travelled south to Wiputa ..Fighting together, the two boys made their way to the table topped Mount Conner, on top of which their bodies are preserved as boulders" (Page 5) Two other accounts are given in Norbert Brockman's (1997) Encyclopedia of Sacred Places. The first tells of serpent beings who waged many wars around Uluru, scarring the rock. The second tells of two tribes of ancestral spirits who were invited to a feast, but were distracted by the beautiful Sleepy Lizard Women and did not show up. In response, the angry hosts sang evil into a mud sculpture that came to life as the dingo. There followed a great battle, which ended in the deaths of the leaders of both tribes. The earth itself rose up in grief at the bloodshed, becoming Uluru. The Commwealth Department of Environment's webpage advises: "Many ..

Tjukurpa such as Kalaya (Emu), Liru (poisonous snake), Lungkata (blue tongue lizard), Luunpa (kingfisher) and Tjintir-tjintirpa (willie wagtail) travel through Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. Other Tjukurpa affect only one specific area. "Kuniya, the woma python, lived in the rocks at Uluru where she fought the Liru, the poisonous snake." It is sometimes reported that those who take rocks from the formation will be cursed and suffer misfortune. There have been many instances where people who removed such rocks attempted to mail them back to various agencies in an attempt to remove the perceived curse. In the News ... Flooding rains bring rare waterfalls to Australia's Uluru AFP - January 16, 2010 Heavy rains which flooded parts of Australia's vast desert centre have brought rare waterfalls spilling from the iconic monolith Uluru, or Ayers Rocks, officials said Saturday.

The deluge, which swept across much of the continent's east after a tropical cyclone last month, prompted a wave of green in the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, home to the giant red rock. Uluru typically receives little more than 12 inches of rain a year, and January is its hottest, driest month, with temperatures topping to 45 degrees Celsius (113 F). Fireball at Ayers Rock NASA - June 28, 2008 A weekend trip for astrophotography in central Australia can result in gorgeous skyscapes. In this example recorded in March of 2006, the center of our Milky Way Galaxy rises over planet Earth's horizon and the large sandstone formation called Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock. After setting up two cameras to automatically image this celestial scene in a series of exposures, one through a wide-angle and the other through a telephoto lens, photographer Joseph Brimacombe briefly turned his back to set up other equipment. To his surprise, the ground around him suddenly lit up with the brilliant flash of a fireball meteor. To his delight, both cameras captured the bright meteor streak.

Highlighted in the telephoto view (inset), the fireball trail shines through cloud banks, just left of Ayers Rock. Satellite Photo [Click and Drag] Face Book: Ben's Journey to Kaja Kutja - Journey into the the Valley of the Winds

Question: The Aborigines call it Uluru. What do we call it?
Answer: Ayers Rock